Tag Archives: Murillo

Bartolomé-Esteban Murillo, The Marriage of the Virgin, c.1660-1670, The Wallace Collection

‘Oh wonderful Spain. Think of this romantic land covered in Moorish ruins and full of Murillos’

Benjamin Disraeli’s 1830 letter attests to the prominence of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in the minds British travellers and collectors. In celebration of the 400thanniversary of Murillo’s birth, the Wallace Collection, in collaboration with the Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica, will be exploring this further by hosting an international one-day symposium on 14th May 2018 entitled ‘Collecting Murillo in Britain and Ireland’.

Speakers include Thierry Morel, Veronique Gerard Powell, Xanthe Brooke, Hugh Brigstocke, Isabelle Kent, Xavier Bray, Claudia Hopkins, Thomas Bean, Hilary Macartney and Philip McEvansoneya. We are delighted to have this group of acclaimed scholars coming together to discuss new research surrounding the collecting of Murillo in Britain and Ireland.The seminars delivered will form the basis of a new volume on the subject to be published by CEEH.

Until February 11, the Frick Collection in New York is celebrating Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, one of the outstanding painters of the Spanish Golden Age, who will turn 400 years old on 31 December. Well known for his religious paintings and his extraordinary depictions of street urchins, he was also an ingenious painter of portraits. This genre remains, however, the least studied aspect of his work. Inspired by the self-portraits in their holdings, New York’s Frick Collection and London’s National Gallery have co-organized a show which will move to London from February 28 through May 21, 2018.

As widely reported by the media, including the Guardian, an exceptional self-portrait by Murillo just discovered at Penrhyn Castle in Wales has been added to the show on account of its exceptionality.

Baptised on 1 January 1618, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (d. 1682) became the leading painter of late seventeenth-century Seville. He completed several religious commissions, especially compelling and innovative representations of the Immaculate Conception. He was also an outstanding portraitist, as revealed in the exhibition Murillo: The Self-Portraits, on view at The Frick Collection in New York until February 4. The painter also excelled in genre pictures of children, a production which made him extremely famous among foreign connoisseurs and collectors, especially in England and France in the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century.

As noted in a contemporary document, Murillo had ‘all his life been a parishioner of la Magdalena [in Seville] without any notable absence’. His oeuvre and memory are closely connected to this city in the South of Spain, then a flourishing emporium for trade with Latin America.

Unsurprisingly, this year the city will celebrate Murillo’s 400th birthday with a number of large-scale cultural events and exhibition. Information on many of these can be found on a dedicated website, Murillo y Sevilla. Here are some highlights:

Until February 11, the Frick Collection in New York is celebrating Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, one of the outstanding painters of the Spanish Golden Age, who will turn 400 years old on 31 December. Well known for his religious paintings and his extraordinary depictions of street urchins, he was also an ingenious painter of portraits. This genre remains, however, the least studied aspect of his work. Inspired by the self-portraits in their holdings, New York’s Frick Collection and London’s National Gallery have co-organized a show which will move to London from February 28 through May 21, 2018.

As widely reported by the media, including the Guardian, an exceptional self-portrait by Murillo just discovered at Penrhyn Castle in Wales has been added to the show on account of its exceptionality.

December of 2017 will witness the 400th birthday of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682), one of the outstanding painters of Golden Age Seville. The Meadows Museum, which holds more paintings by the artist than any other collection in the United States, will celebrate his anniversary with a special exhibition. The display will celebrate the Meadows’ extraordinary holdings of artworks by the artist, and pair them with paintings by Murillo’s Sevillian contemporaries, thus highlighting the artistic context with which he remains so intimately associated.

The concert will be a one-hour illustrated performance titled ‘Sacred and Secular in Spanish Art and Song.’ Curated by Ricardo Gosalbo and Professor Barry Ife, it will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Murillo. The programme features a rich and varied programme of songs and images celebrating four hundred years of the birth of the Spanish painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in 1617. Guildhall postgraduate singers perform settings of Spanish Golden-Age lyrics by Joaquín Turina, Eduard Toldrá, Joaquín Rodrigo, Joaquín Nin, Amadeo Vives, Fernando Obradors and Frederic Mompou against a vibrant backdrop of some of Murillo’s finest drawings and paintings.

Following the stunning performance, guests will have the opportunity to have a small wine reception with the performers.

Tickets: BSS members £15, non members: £25.

Tickets include a glass of wine.

55 tickets available. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Any benefits from ticket sales will go towards the BSS Grants which some of the Guildhall School of Music artists have won. This event is supported by the Guild Hall School of Music and the Embassy of Spain.